Written by:\u00a0Claire O\u2019Connor<\/p>\n
International travel is not only the foundation of my career but also of my personal life. Born in the green countryside of southern Ireland and now settled in the hustle and bustle of Toronto, as an adult, jumping on a plane for me was as second nature as it was to jump on my pony as a child. Since immigrating to Canada, I\u2019ve been so privileged to make multiple trips to my homeland each year\u2014until the pandemic hit.<\/p>\n
For the past 18 months, like so many living in downtown Toronto, I\u2019ve survived restricted movement within a shoebox-sized apartment and, at maximum, provincial travel. This was the first time in the decade I\u2019ve lived in Canada that I didn\u2019t have the luxury of taking a plane home to Ireland or travelling anywhere.<\/p>\n
Fully vaccinated and fully unsure of what to expect, I booked a flight to return to Irish soil earlier this month. It was a new feeling for me to not be 110% confident, excited, or clear about a flight routing I have completed countless times. This time, I will admit, was the most excited I\u2019ve ever been to travel, but elements of anxiousness tapped into my thoughts because I didn\u2019t know what travelling with COVID-19 policies and protocols would look like.<\/p>\n
To summarize: Respectful, efficient, leisurely, comfortable, and clean all ring true, from my check-in at Pearson Airport in Toronto to the Arrivals Hall in Dublin.<\/strong><\/p>\n Check-in:<\/strong> Arriving at Pearson, Canada’s busiest airport, the Departures Hall was busier than I\u2019d expected but by no means at the levels I\u2019d faced before the pandemic. I was pleasantly surprised to see everyone being respectful of personal space, practicing high standards of hygiene, and wearing a mask correctly. The check-in process was quick and efficient. The desk itself had a transparent, solid screen between the passengers and staff, so each passenger could briefly lower their mask to show their passport photo matched their likeness. At check-in, the staff was very diligent regarding asked-for documentation. I was prepared with the Irish government\u2019s website on my phone to help, along with a smile, which is the best thing to bring on any trip.<\/p>\n Based on my experience, I recommend being familiar with your documentation and storing them in an orderly fashion, perhaps with labels, to easily identify and present upon request. If you have a printer with paper, it\u2019s very easy to collect all the required documents before check-in. My top tip is to add a little patience to your smile\u2014you just need to remember one country\u2019s policy, but the airport staff must recall those of the entire globe.<\/p>\n Security:<\/strong> Next I was on to security, which was the most leisurely and clean experience I\u2019ve ever had. My boarding passes were checked twice, at the start and end of the empty line before the body checkers. In-between my temperature was checked\u2014here was the only snafu I met. The first thermometer got an unclear reading, prompting an alarm and worried reaction from the staff. This was promptly resolved by a senior staff member\u2019s re-check, who explained to both myself and the staff member who first took my temperature (she was in training) that the machine wasn\u2019t used correctly on the first attempt. As I progressed through security, the body scanner alarms rang, but that was expected as I have some metal in my leg. The security staff was again respectful and efficient as I was taken aside, where they reviewed my surgeon\u2019s letter and double-checked me with a handheld scanner.<\/p>\n Similarly, security in Dublin Airport maintained high levels of efficiency. Since my flight landed early in the morning, there was a low volume of foot traffic at Customs which made for a very comfortable process that was enhanced by a very warm \u201cWelcome Home, Claire.\u201d<\/p>\n Duty-Free & Departure Gate:<\/strong> Pearson always impresses me with its grandeur and amenities. I was more than surprised to see every store open, as they had the approval to do so about a week before my trip. Every store and lounge area looked like new, maybe due to the cleanliness policies. I didn\u2019t take time to shop, as I wanted to minimize my movement, and headed straight to my departure gate. Here was the busiest part of the airport I\u2019d seen, yet every second seat was taped off to ensure social distancing was maintained. It was nice to see every passenger comfortably abided. Excitement was in the air as passengers shared stories of how long they had been away from their Irish homes and loved ones or had dreamt to travel to Ireland and the time had finally come.<\/p>\n Boarding & Flying:<\/strong> The traditional, structured boarding plan was rolled out when the time came to board\u2014the difference I noticed most was that passengers respectfully waited for their zone to be called rather than forming lines beforehand. Each seat was clean and outfitted with a care package that included a fresh mask, hand sanitizer, and wipes. The aircraft was near capacity\u2014I saw only one empty seat! It was mentioned there were 100 vacant unpaid seats, which I thought must have been allocated to children under two (who typically would be seated on their parent\u2019s lap) to make sure everyone was as comfortable as possible. The flight was just over six hours. We flew through the night, and the majority of the flight people remained in their seats, wearing their masks. The only stage a mask was okay to be removed was once your entire row had a meal and the aircrew had stepped to the next row. The mask had to be replaced if staff came back during your meal\u2014for example, to bring milk for your tea. As the wheels hit the runway in Dublin, the cabin was filled with enthusiastic applause and thrilled cheers. No mask could muffle the excitement, relief, and overall joyous emotions on board.<\/p>\n All in all, if everyone is respectful of the rules, flying in a pandemic was much more efficient, leisurely, and comfortable than I\u2019d expected.<\/p>\n Claire O\u2019Connor<\/em> is an Account Manager from our Toronto office.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Written by:\u00a0Claire O\u2019Connor International travel is not only the foundation of my career but also of my personal life. Born in the green countryside of southern Ireland and now settled in the hustle and bustle of Toronto, as an adult, jumping on a plane for me was as second nature as it was to jump Read More …<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5198,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5195","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-explorica-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5195","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5195"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5195\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5201,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5195\/revisions\/5201"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5198"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5195"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5195"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5195"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n